Starbucks Has Failed In Australia

Ashley Lutz, provided by

Published 8:27 am, Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Starbucks is a huge flop in Australia.

The coffee mega-chain handed over its remaining 24 cafes down under to the Withers Group, which operates 7-11 in Australia, reports Venessa Wong at Bloomberg Businessweek. Starbucks closed nearly all of its 84 Australian stores last year.

The brand made several missteps that contributed to the decline in Australia, Wong writes.

Starbucks entered the market in 2000. At that point, McDonald's McCafe and Gloria Jean's were already established there.

The chain also opened in low-traffic areas and charged more money than competitors.

Disappointing sales in Australia shouldn't set back Starbucks too much.

The brand has more than 23,000 locations worldwide. About 5,500 of those are outside the U.S.

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